


The past shows up when you don't need it

by AmebThings



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)
Genre: Alcohol, Angst, Character's Past, Drinking, Established Relationship, Friendship, Grief/Mourning, Headcanon, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, M/M, Mentions of Violence, Past Abuse, Secret Relationship, Strong Language, Swearing, mentions of sexual situations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-23
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:49:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27166831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmebThings/pseuds/AmebThings
Summary: Reno's past catches up to him unexpectedly, and sure enough - he doesn't know how to cope.
Relationships: Reno/Rude (Compilation of FFVII)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 27





	The past shows up when you don't need it

**Author's Note:**

> TW for really strong language describing a person and depiction of a horrific death and unstable behaviour, as well as hints about the childhood abuse.  
> I think this is the most serious one I wrote so far - didn't fit well with the Vault (since that one is centered around their relationship) so I'm posting this one separately.
> 
> I had this idea/HC for a while, never had time to write it down. Got inspired by TheTurksPajamas' "Blood" entry for Whumptober.
> 
> One scene idea got borrowed from my fav novel by Haruki Murakami.

It was a day like any other, till Tseng called Reno to his office.

They were supposed to go run an errand, check another sector for so called "activities". Reno turned to him, saluted mockingly and swinged on his heel to follow their superior's steps. Rude finished the few hours mission by himself, not paying it any mind. 

He saw Reno much later, when they crossed paths in the Shinra lobby, one coming back with a report, the other one leaving. Reno didn't seem to notice, despite them almost brushing shoulders. He left quickly, arms hunched, head hanging low, like something was bothering him. Rude had no chance to ask what that was.

His apartment was dark and silent, nobody disturbed its peace since the morning chaos. Rude thought about calling his partner, but dismissed that idea almost instantly. They weren't joined by the hip, if Reno wanted to spend the night elsewhere, that was his choice. 

It was also his choice to come back, as Rude got startled awake by a loud rattling of the keys in the front door. Jumping out of bed, he cursed, stumbling over in the darkness. He turned on the dim hallway lights and opened the door, wincing.

"Huh..." Reno mumbled under his breath, hand still holding the key, as the door moved, yanking him forward. "That's...not m' place...."

Rude could ask him, where he's been. He could ask, why he drank on a work night, why is he absolutely wasted. But he didn't, only stepping away to let Reno inside. The man visibly hesitated, but waltzed in after a moment, wobbling to the sides. Rude locked the door behind him, almost regretting giving Reno a spare key.

"Ruuuuuuude..." 

Rude didn't see his partner's face, but could imagine his lips stretching out into a sly smile. He felt arms, sliding over his sides, and up his chest.

"It's late." He freed himself, turning around. Reno stumbled back, smile still wide and present.

"Who the f- who the fuck cares? We gotta celebrate, dude!" He shouted, throwing his arms up and almost falling over. "Gimme all yer whiskey!"

"Stop yelling" Rude wanted nothing more, than just go back to sleep. Reno fell quiet, but only because he disappeared into the kitchen, running loudly through the cabinets. Rude reached the lights there in time for his shriek of victory.

"Grab a glass, pardner!" Reno swayed his hips, shaking the bottle of liquor. "We're drinkin'!"

"We're not." Rude tried to grab the whiskey, but Reno was faster. His agility was unbeaten, even under influence.

"We are!" Reno jumped on his leather couch. "The bitch is dead!"

"What?"

Reno didn't answer, taking a swing straight out of the bottle. Rude stepped closer.

"What are you talking about?"

"M' say'n the bitch's dead!" Reno's knees gave out and he tumbled down on the couch, giggling like a maniac. "M' finally freeeeee, cause that whore is out for the count!"

Rude sat down at the far end of the couch, eyes fixed on his partner, currently rolling around the pillows, amber liquid staining his white wrinkled shirt. That was a thing with Reno - he would either spill the beans about shit immediately, or keep it inside forever, making his soul rot. Rude had to wait for it.

After a moment, Reno stopped laughing to himself and managed to push his body back up to a sitting position. Taking another generous drink, he offered the bottle to Rude, or rather made an attempt to do so - he was so hammered, he couldn't keep his limb in a straight line - the bottle bobbed from side to side, till Rude managed to grab it.

"The bitch's dead" Reno said, dead serious despite his toothy grin. Rude could only nod to that. "And it's...it's for sure th's time. I got it aaaaaaall official n' shit. Wanna see?"

He fumbled around his jacket, that still hang off his shoulders somehow, fishing out a crumpled piece of paper. He pushed it into Rude's hand, using his confusion to snatch back the bottle and drink half of its content in one go.

Rude unfolded the paper, smoothing the edges. It was a death certificate of a woman, with a photo attached. The name told him nothing, but her face looked familiar. The photo itself must've been taken a long time ago, because she looked much younger than her estimated age. Rude squinted.

"Is that...?"

"Yep!" Reno was apparently waiting for his reaction, cause he lifted the bottle in a motion of a toast, before taking another generous gulp. Rude looked at him, then down at the photo again. It was hard to call the woman pretty, even if she didn' have the face of a deep dive junkie. Her eyes glowed unnaturaly, despite the greyscale of the print. A long time Mako user.

"How?" Rude asked, not seeing any cause of death, the column of it empty on the paper. Reno started laughing again, spraying whiskey everywhere.

"Wait till u hear it, this's the funniest shit ever" he wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his jacket. "Like, there's this warehouse, this, fuckin'...this place where they kept stolen goodies, the fuckin' idiots. We burned it aaaaaaall down, down to the ground. Bitch just happened to be there, propably blowin' them for a whiff of Mako. Get it?!" 

Reno laughed again, slapping his knees. "She just so HAPPENED to be there! I mean, how STUPID can you get?!"

Rude was silent, as his partner howled like a very amused wolf.

"This is the happiest day of my life!" Reno beamed, dropping now empty bottle onto the couch. Rude took another look at the paper. 

"How do you know it's her?" He didn't want to state the obvious, nor burst his partner's bubble. Reno smirked, lifting his shirt and poking at his spine.

"Traffickers' chip." He didn't have to say more - those were hard to remove. Rude slowly folded the paper back and placed it on the coffee table. That made Reno giggle.

"I had to...I had to identify "teh body" He made quotation marks with his fingers, very floaty and unsteady ones. "A fuckin' charred spine, and one arm! Now that was a sight!" He grabbed the bottle again and saluted to the ceiling. "I hope you continue to burn in hell, you fuckfaced bitch!"

Rude felt tired. Tired and extremely aware of how late it was. But Reno caught a new wind. Without the bottle to occupy his mouth, he started talking, kept talking - about being sold, about escaping, learning to run fast, hiding on cue, stealing food, bearing witness to things no one ever should. His stories were incomplete and broken, each one having another one nested inside, neither of them making any sense. But he kept talking and the time kept passing. 

An hour later Rude was starting to fall asleep, despite the constant noise of Reno's slurred speech. Head supported on one arm, he moved the other and placed it on his partner's back. Reno jolted under the touch, stopping mid sentence, mouth slightly agape.

"It's late." Rude tried quietly, rubbing circles over narrow shoulder blades. "Come to bed."

Reno blinked, then very slowly shook his head. His previous joyfullness long gone, he looked at his hand, like he saw it for the first time, then brought it to his face, letting out a choked sob. Rude sat by his side a moment longer, then gave up. He disappeared into the bedroom with a heavy heart, leaving his partner alone with his past. 

The next morning Reno was gone by the time he got up, along with the death certificate. The only things remaining were whiskey stains on the couch pillows and the empty bottle, shattered to pieces by the living room wall. Reno showed up at work though, and acted as his normal sarcastic self. Or so it seemed. 

They ended up in Rude's apartment again that night, hands and tongues already busy with each other. Reno straddled his hips on their way to the couch, tearing his shirt open with quick aggressive swipes. And yet, despite Rude's best efforts, his partner wouldn't get hard. 

"Fuck..." Reno whined into his ear, as he retrieved his gloved hand from his pants. 

"Reno-"

Reno didn't wait for his question. Pushing himself free from the embrace, he stormed out the apartment's door without a word or a look back. Rude sighed, left with a boner to take care of by himself, and not so pleasant thoughts. Seemed like his partner wasn't in the right state of mind after all. 

It continued for almost a week, with Reno claiming he's fine and getting angry every time Rude asked him. So he stopped asking, only watching from afar. That soul rotting process, he could tell it was set in motion.

"You have the certificate?" he broke the silence one day, while they sat alone in the office. Reno looked up at him from the keyboard, and grinned.

'Yeah, I got it. I keep pulling it out to look at and cheer myself up." He sat back on his chair, making it creak. "Hell, I wish i got a pic of the bitch's remains, that would make me fuckin bust a gut."

Rude didn't believe that. He didn't want to.

"Come with me" he said, leaving his desk. He heard Reno follow without question, so he lead him to an elevator. Reno raised an eyebrow, but said nothing, when he pushed the top floor button. 

They stepped outside, the wind whistling in their ears, almost knocking the breath out of them. The helicopters' parking lot.

"Okay, now what?" Reno yelled through the gusts, holding his ponytail to keep it from whipping his face. Rude put his glasses higher on his nose and head gestured his partner's jacket. It took Reno a moment to realise what he meant, but nevertheless, he took out the crumpled piece of paper from his side pocket. He glanced at it, but quickly turned away, as the wind unfloded it on its own, the white sheet rippling through the air like a flag.

Rude reached to his own pockets and showed his partner two things. A Barrier Materia. And a lighter. He knew Reno well enough to know not to say anything, not to give advices nor suggestions. He didn't have to. Reno spoke, and though he couldn't hear his voice, he read it from his lips.

"Set it up."

With the Barrier spell around them it became very quiet very suddenly. Rude could hear the paper rustling under Reno's curling fingers. 

"Okay" Reno said, to apparently no one. "Okay."

He pulled his ever present goggles over his eyes, and flicked the lighter open. A tiny flame danced over the silver surface and the Shinra logo, engraved into it. Reno moved the paper closer to it, and for a moment Rude felt out of place, like he should step out of the barrier, leave Reno to it. But somehow he couldn't. 

Reno payed him no mind, as he finally brought the paper close enough to catch on fire, the rim of the document shining blue, before turning black. His partner closed the lighter and gave it back to him, lifting the slowly burning paper up high. 

"Take it down" he whispered, biting his lower lip. Rude obediently removed the Barrier spell, bracing himself for the punch of wind. A loud whistle filled his ears, as he watched the death certificate disappear in seconds, engulfed by a short outburst of a red flame. And it was gone, just like that, and Reno lowered his arm, red hair flying around him like whips.

He was screaming, words Rude couldn't quite make out, the sheer sound almost overpowering the gusts. He remained by his partner's side, arms folded over his chest, as Reno yelled into the sky, treacherous tears spilling from under the goggles. 

Tears Rude witnessed, and the wind dried out instantly.


End file.
